Wolfsburg strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite both netted in the German league leader’s 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday while title rivals Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich also picked up wins.
With Hertha winning 2-0 at Cologne and Bayern enjoying a 3-0 victory over Bavarian neighbors Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg stay top of the Bundesliga on goal difference.
“Although Dortmund were very strong, we kept up the pressure and got the reward,” said Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath. “And amongst our strikers we have natural high qualities.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bayern’s win also puts them on 63 points and they are two behind Wolfsburg on goal difference, while Hertha are third on 62 points with two games left.
Wolfsburg’s Dzeko hit his 21st goal of the season when he latched onto a through ball in Dortmund’s penalty area after only 14 minutes.
And Grafite moved one clear of Stuttgart’s Mario Gomez as the league’s top scorer with his 24th goal in 23 league games when he accepted Dzeko’s simple tap in on 47 minutes.
PHOTO: EPA
To add insult to injury, Dortmund had Kevin-Prince Boateng sent off for a dangerous tackle before Dzeko added his second with five minutes left as Dortmund had their seven-game winning streak broken.
“We did not lose here undeservedly, yet we do not have the feeling that we failed,” said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp.
“Wolfsburg simply have outstanding quality in their strikers, we did what we could, but it wasn’t enough,” he said.
Defending champions Bayern Munich ran riot against Leverkusen as Luca Toni opened the scoring just after the half-time break when Bayern’s caretaker coach Jupp Heynckes read his side the riot act at half-time.
“We played okay in the first-half, but we were too jerky in our movement,” Heynckes said.
“In the half-time break, I made it clear to the players that they must play differently and not be so defensively and the result was there for all to see,” he said.
Then French midfielder Franck Ribery added a second on 59 minutes with a clever flick over Bayer goalkeeper Rene Adler.
And Bayern striker Lukas Podolski — who is heading back to his former club Cologne at the end of the season — was set up by his Germany teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger to hit Munich’s third on 71 minutes.
Hertha Berlin are still in the title race after their 2-1 win at Cologne thanks to Brazilian Cicero and midfielder Patrick Ebert while the home side pulled back a late consolation goal.
Bottom side Karlsruhe look almost certain to be relegated as they squandered a 2-0 lead to slump to a 3-2 defeat at home to Hanover leaving the league’s bottom team four points from safety with two games left.
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